“Maybe it’s someone with a grudge against the royal family, then,” he said.

“Like the communists, you mean? But Sir Jeremy said that they’d checked that possibility and it couldn’t be an outsider.”

“Then maybe someone who’s staying in the area isn’t what he claims to be. What about that whole nasty affair with your foreign princess? The communists managed to fool you all then, didn’t they? And almost bumped off Their Majesties.”

My thoughts went straight to Hugo. I remembered how he had miraculously appeared to rescue me the previous day and then how he’d tried to sneak into my bedroom when I was resting. Had he been coming to finish me off? I wondered.

“It seems to me that the first thing I should do today is to take a look at that line of succession,” I said. “And to have a talk with Binky about one of our guests, called Hugo Beasley-Bottome.”

“Blimey, what a name,” Granddad said. “So you think he might be suspicious, do you?”

“Well, he was right there on the spot when I had to be rescued from that rope. What was he doing hanging about on a mountainside? And I know nothing about him. He just invited himself to stay at the castle and appeared out of nowhere.”

“How did he manage to invite himself?”

“He was at school with Binky, apparently.”

“Then ask your brother about him. And if that rope was tampered with, find out who had a chance to tamper with it. Where was it kept?”

“It came from Balmoral with Prince George, so Siegfried said.”

“Now that’s a thought,” Granddad said. “Which one is Prince George?”

“He’s the king’s youngest son. Sixth in line.”

“He’s ’ere, is he?” Granddad asked.

“He was. He was called back to Balmoral.”

“So either someone could be working to get rid of him or”—he paused and looked up at me, his bright little Cockney eyes twinkling—“or he set up the accidents himself to make it look as if they were aimed at him.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I can’t tell you that. But why wasn’t he climbing if he’d brought the rope?”

“He was summoned back to Balmoral, apparently,” I said, my voice trailing off at the end of this.

“Which is why he didn’t use his lav either, I suppose.”

I nodded, then I shook my head vehemently. “That’s silly. He’d have no motive for playing these tricks on other people. For one thing, nobody here is ahead of him in the line of succession. And anyway, he said how glad he was that he wouldn’t have to be king one day and how he didn’t envy his oldest brother.”

“All the same, I’d check into that rope if you feel you must do something. So is there anything I can do to help you?”